


Dark Blue Skies

by schneefink



Category: Steerswoman Series - Rosemary Kirstein
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-18
Updated: 2015-12-18
Packaged: 2018-05-07 10:23:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5453246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schneefink/pseuds/schneefink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the third year of Willam's apprenticeship with Corvus, Abremio came to Wulfshaven.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dark Blue Skies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ekaterinn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ekaterinn/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide! I hope you enjoy this.  
> Many thanks to isis and sholio for improving this story.

Willam sat in the library with the manual about electricity he was currently studying. Every once in a while he sneaked a look at Corvus, carefully enough that he had plausible deniability if Corvus noticed.

For the past few weeks Corvus had been tense almost constantly, and today it had become even worse. At first Willam had thought he was just affected by the recent long heat wave, even though he could regulate the temperature in the house. Then he thought it might be related to some kind of magic Corvus hadn't told him about; but usually when Corvus was faced with a magical challenge he became focused and intense, patient rather than frustrated. It must be something different, and thinking about what it could be made Willam nervous. 

The next time Willam looked up Corvus looked up at the same time and caught his gaze. Willam flushed.

Then Corvus sighed and put his book away. "Abremio is coming to Wulfshaven in a week," he said bluntly.

Willam froze. "He's coming here?" he asked, and his voice cracked in the middle of the sentence. Abremio, the Blue wizard of The Crags, of whom he'd been terrified his entire childhood. "Why?" 

"A machine broke, and I don't have the spare parts necessary for the repair or the means to make them. Abremio does." Corvus didn't look happy about it.

"And he has to come in person?"

"No. He's most likely coming to meet you."

"Me." Willam could feel his heartbeat racing in his chest, throat, and wrists. "What does he want with me?"

"I imagine he is curious." Corvus looked him over, and Willam resisted the urge to wring his hands together. "It's been over two years since I took you as my apprentice, and the other wizards all imagined I'd get rid of you long before that."

Willam swallowed and carefully put the manual on the side table. "You said they didn't believe you when you said you took me as an apprentice. Because I'm not Krue."

"True," Corvus confirmed. "They thought I was interested in you because you were young and pretty, and made up the excuse because I was embarrassed. They are probably surprised you managed to hold my interest for so long, and worried about your influence on me." 

Willam knew he was blushing, as he nearly always did when the subject of his "cover story" came up. "Abremio thinks I'm influencing you?"

"Not likely," Corvus said dismissively. "If he admits to any interest in you, he'll say it's because he's worried that you're a spy and not to be trusted." 

Willam ducked his head at that. It wasn't completely untrue.

"He's more likely to try and recruit you to spy on me for him," Corvus continued. 

"For him?" Willam asked, surprised. 

"Yes," Corvus said. "He still isn't sure I'm not the traitor. It would be a big advantage for him if he could bribe or threaten you to work for him. I imagine he hopes that I've been abusing you because it'll make you more susceptible to betraying me." 

"But you haven't – I won't!"

Corvus didn't react to that. He must know that Willam wouldn't betray him to another wizard, otherwise he would never let him stay. If Corvus thought that Willam was a threat, he'd kill him rather than let him go. Artos or Rowan couldn't do anything to protect him while he stayed in the wizard's house. Willam still lived, and Corvus was still teaching him magic, so Corvus must have some level of faith in him.

Every once in a while Willam wondered why. Corvus generally wasn't a very trusting person.

"What do I need to do?" Willam asked.

Corvus looked at Willam for a long moment. "It would be too suspicious to send you away while he's here," he finally concluded. "It will be easier to let him keep his assumptions about what you are doing here. Abremio doesn't like non-Krue, and he wouldn't like it if he knew you were actually studying magic. Try not to let him know."

"Yes, sir."

"He will expect me to exhibit certain affections around you," Corvus continued. "I may touch you more often to encourage his assumptions. Be assured that nothing else will happen." 

"Yes, sir," Willam said. He was blushing again, and he cursed his pale complexion.

"You won't be able to avoid him the whole time. He'll try to talk to you alone."

"What… what will he do?"

"Interrogate you," Corvus said. "Try to find out where you came from and what you want, and if he can use you in any way. He'll try to find out if you are susceptible to bribery or threats, and then try either."

Willam swallowed. He wanted to ask Corvus to protect him, to not leave him alone with the evil wizard, but he wasn't a child anymore. He was a wizard's apprentice. Corvus knew what he was doing, and he would protect Willam if he thought it was necessary. That was more than anyone had done for his sister, when Abremio's men came for her.

The thought of his sister sparked an idea in his head. "Sir," he asked urgently, "if I talk to him – do you think I could find out what happened to my sister?"

He'd asked Corvus about what might have happened to her at the very beginning of his apprenticeship. Corvus had said he didn't know what Abremio did with the children he had kidnapped, and it would be too suspicious for him to ask. But if Willam could talk with Abremio, in a situation where Abremio was trying to get something from him…

Corvus frowned. "There's no guarantee he remembers her or knows what happened to her. Besides–"

"I know it's too risky to ask after her directly," Willam interrupted. "I could just ask him in general terms. If he wants me to work for him it makes sense for me to be worried about the fact that he's kidnapping children."

Corvus still didn't look happy about the idea. "It's a risk." 

"Yes, but… it's my sister." 

"If Abremio thinks you're a danger to him, he might kill you," Corvus said. "He knows he can get away with it. He'll either do it himself, or make sure that I'm ordered to kill you. It's important that he thinks you're harmless."

It wasn't a no, and Willam watched him carefully. Finally, Corvus nodded with a sigh. "Inform the Duke tomorrow," he said. "Abremio will arrive by ship in about five day's time, and he will stay here for a few days. Tell Della to prepare a guest room. Make sure there are no traces of advanced magic in your room, or among the books you're reading."

"Yes, sir," Willam said. He took a deep breath. Abremio was coming, but Willam could handle him. He hoped.

He said the same thing, only more confident, to the Duke the next day. Artos swore, as always when the topic of wizards came up. Willam was sympathetic, but they both knew that Artos couldn't do anything.

"Tell Corvus I want to talk to him," Artos said with visible reluctance. "He hasn't been in the city for a while, and we could use his weather scrying." 

"I'll tell him," Willam promised. Corvus had started to explain weather scrying to him, how to calculate predictions based on the data from the Guidestars, and Willam knew it wouldn't take the wizard long to get the information. 

Artos nodded. "You know I'll help you leave him if you want," he offered, not for the first time. 

"Thank you, but no," Willam replied, as always. 

As always, Artos shrugged in unhappy acceptance. "Don't forget to visit the Lamplighters," he said as they parted, and Willam couldn't help a small grin.

Artos occasionally tried to get Willam to socialize more, "because I promised Bel and Rowan I'd make sure you keep your feet on the ground." Every once in a while he invited Willam to some kind of gathering or event and introduced him to people. However, Willam's status as the wizard's apprentice made people wary of him, and even back in his home village he'd found it difficult to find things in common with people to talk about, let alone to make friends. 

The company Willam enjoyed the most was the members and admirers of the new Lamplighters guild, founded by Corvus himself only a few years ago. Corvus had told him that he'd tried to choose people who were trustworthy, but also not too smart or curious, people who wouldn't be tempted to try to experiment on their own. He'd mostly, but not entirely succeeded in that. The people who tended to socialize with the guild members, however, especially some of the blacksmiths who created the tools, were exactly the kind of inquisitive minds Corvus was wary of. Sometimes, when Willam hung out with them, he almost managed to forget that he wasn't one of them. Then he remembered that he could only listen and not talk, because he knew too much. 

He visited the guild and the pub next door several times in the days before Abremio arrived, which was much more often than he usually did. Usually he spent several hours each day with Corvus, learning about magic and making charms. But Corvus barely talked to him while he was preparing for Abremio's arrival. He said he had to increase the wards around the house's system for when Abremio came, but Willam suspected Corvus also wanted to spare him his bad mood. None of the wizards trusted each other, or even liked each other, but Corvus' dislike of Abremio seemed personal. Several times Willam almost asked, but he never quite dared.

He was glad none of the Lamplighters or smiths asked him about his more frequent presence. He'd told them Abremio would arrive soon, and they probably had their own theories. Rin and Cala even baked him fresh bread rolls one day, and Willam realized he must not have been able to hide his nervousness very well. 

If he noticed, Corvus didn't say anything about it. Maybe he thought it fit the image they wanted to present to Abremio. After all, if Willam really was what Abremio thought he was, he could have different reasons to be wary of the other wizard.

On the day when Corvus said Abremio would arrive, he retreated to his study and closed the door, signaling that he wasn't to be disturbed. He came out several hours later with a blank face, told Della and Jorin to make sure dinner was prepared, and went to greet Abremio at the harbor.

Willam barely understood anything he was reading while he waited. Corvus didn't like it when Willam used the watching spells on him, so all he could do was wait for the doorbell.

He almost jumped when the front door opened and he could hear two voices. He took a deep breath. Corvus hadn't told him where he wanted him to be, but usually – 

"Willam!" Corvus called, and Willam walked into the living room and saw Abremio for the first time.

The wizard of The Crags was considerably shorter than Corvus. He'd been such a huge figure in Willam's head for so long that it made Willam blink in surprise. Then Abremio turned to look at him and his presence immediately made Willam forget his actual height. For a moment he fought the urge to try and make himself look smaller, then he remembered the role he was playing and gave in.

Abremio wore blue, including a deep blue vest adorned by intricate silver embroidery. Objectively his face looked unremarkable, with a high forehead and short curly black hair and a neatly trimmed black and grey beard. His eyes were small and very dark and surrounded by crow's feet. Willam got the impression that Abremio could switch from friendly to angry in an instant.

He'd apparently decided on jovial for now. "Willam! You're Corvus' apprentice, aren't you? How are your studies coming along?"

"Well, sir, thank you," Willam said, ducking his head. 

"We were all very surprised when we heard about you. Corvus must think you are very special. I can see why." 

Willam didn't look up, but he felt his ears go red. "Dinner is ready," he said, to change the topic quickly.

"Excellent," Abremio said, rubbing his hands. "Lead the way."

During the first half of dinner, Abremio, thankfully, mostly talked at Corvus. Corvus gave polite, but short answers, which didn't stop Abremio from talking about his travel, and new buildings in The Crags, and his favorite music. Nothing substantial or in any way important, Willam noticed. Instead of relaxing him, as Abremio maybe intended, it made him even more tense.

"So, Willam!" Abremio finally said brightly. "Tell me about yourself!"

Willam quickly glanced at Corvus, who looked back at him impassively. Right, he was prepared for his. "I'm, uh… I'm from one of the villages nearby. My father was the blacksmith." On Abremio's prodding he told him about what he'd done working for his father, and then invented a story of how he'd met Corvus while visiting a smithy in Wulfshaven where Corvus had gone for supplies. 

"And of course Corvus immediately saw how… talented you are," Abremio said with a smirk, looking Willam up and down. "Yes, I can see how the two of you fit together well. Don't you think so?" 

Willam tried very hard not to picture what Abremio was implying. It was a familiar feeling. He'd seen Corvus naked once, accidentally, and try as he might he couldn't forget that image, especially not at night.

He was a teenage boy, such things were normal. It wasn't important.

"So what have you been learning?" Abremio asked, and Willam realized that he'd pressed his eyes shut. He opened them with an effort and concentrated on not looking at Corvus. 

"Uh… reading and writing," he said. That seemed safe. "Corvus has a library." 

"What a studious young man! You must be very glad to have him," Abremio said, turning to Corvus. "I'm sure it's very enjoyable."

"It is," Corvus said shortly. He had to say that for their story to hold up, Willam knew. He tried not to analyze Corvus' tone. 

For the rest of the meal Abremio questioned Willam about what he was reading. Willam told him of a few books he'd read a year ago, light novels that he'd practiced his skills on, and fortunately Abremio seemed satisfied with that. 

"You seem like a nice young lad," Abremio finally said, when he'd finished dessert. "Corvus, are you sure he's loyal?"

Willam blinked at the sudden switch. Abremio was still smiling.

"Yes," Corvus said. "He's loyal."

"One can never be too sure. In uncertain times like these… Have you put a secrecy spell on him?" 

Secrecy spell – he must mean the speech-garbling spell Willam had first encountered with Rowan and Bel. All of Corvus' house servants were placed under that spell, to prevent them from revealing any secrets. Willam shuddered at the memory of the spell's effects and knew that Abremio saw it.

"I would recommend it," Abremio said.

"It's not necessary." 

Abremio shook his head slowly. "If you say so," he said disapprovingly. "You shouldn't let emotions cloud your judgment."

"My judgment is fine." 

"If you say so," Abremio repeated and stood up from the table. "Well, this has been delightful. Willam, I hope you will come with us to the island tomorrow? It could be a learning experience."

Willam looked uncertainly at Corvus. He didn't know about any island, and he was curious, but he didn't trust Abremio at all.

"He will," Corvus said.

"Excellent! Then if you excuse me, I will see you tomorrow. Willam, if you could show me to my room?" 

Willam walked with him to the door and from there summoned Della to show Abremio his room. He was half afraid Abremio would insist on his company, but he only wished him a good night with an exaggerated wink. Willam felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as Della led Abremio away.

Willam spent the rest of the evening in his own room, listening to music. He was bored, but he didn't dare to get a manual from the library to read, in case Abremio caught him there. 

Abremio's mere presence in the house unnerved him, and he was very conscious of the fact that he'd planned to speak to him at some point. It was for his sister, he reminded himself. Abremio was just here for a few days, then he'd be gone. 

Corvus knocked on his door a little while later, and Willam let him in. 

"Are you all right?" Corvus asked.

"Fine," said Willam. "I think he bought it so far. I don't like him," he added with a grimace.

Corvus gave a short laugh. "Neither do I. Unfortunately, I need him."

"But you were… is that why you turned from Red to Blue? Because you needed his help?" Willam asked, in a sudden burst of inspiration. 

Corvus only raised an eyebrow, and Willam subsided. The Red and Blue divide was one of the topics Corvus refused to discuss with him, no matter how often Willam asked. Every time Willam pressed the matter Corvus asked if Willam would lie to his steerswoman or refuse to answer her questions, and every time Willam had to admit that he couldn't promise that he would. "I will, if you prove to me why I should," he'd challenged the wizard once, but Corvus had just snorted.

Willam meant what he'd said to Rowan and Bel: he'd tell them the wizards' secrets unless there was a good reason why the wizards didn't want anyone to know. But occasionally he couldn't help but wonder what else Corvus might teach him, if Willam promised to keep his secrets. 

"Which island are we going to tomorrow?" Willam asked, instead. "And which machine needs to be repaired?"

"You'll see tomorrow," Corvus said. "Go to sleep."

"Will Abremio… will he try to put a spell on me? If he gets me alone?"

Corvus considered it. "Probably not," he said finally. "The secrecy spell takes a lot of time and work. It's not pleasant. He may try to put a bug on you, I'll check for them after he leaves."

Willam recalled the terms he'd learned. "A listening device?" 

"Yes. Of course if he deems you a threat he may just kill you outright," Corvus warned him again.

"Is that likely?"

"Not very, I think," Corvus said. "However, I don't know him very well."

Willam took a deep breath. "Will he try to torture me to get information on you?" He remembered Bel torturing Shammer and Dhree's soldier, and shivered.

Corvus frowned, as if the idea hadn't occurred to him. "He'll probably think you aren't worth it."

"Okay," Willam said with some relief.

"It's your choice," Corvus said and left the room.

Willam rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. For the hundredth time in his apprenticeship he wished that Rowan and Bel were here; Rowan with her cool logic to help him analyze the situation, and Bel with her sword to protect him. 

They were far away by now, probably in the middle of the Outskirts. He'd looked at the Outskirts from a Guidestar several times and had tried to guess where Bel and Rowan might be, but the area was too huge. He didn't even know if they were still alive. 

As always, he banished that thought as soon as it arose. 

In any case, they weren't here. Willam was on his own, and he would have to face Abremio again the next day. 

He slept very little that night. 

When the alarm woke him, earlier than usual, he was still feeling nervous and jittery. He ate and went to the shed, where Jorin was already preparing the hovercraft. Willam checked the instruments for a second time, just to have something to do, when Corvus and Abremio finally entered the shed. Abremio was wearing a blue coat and carrying a big bag that Willam hadn't noticed the other night. Maybe it had been delivered from his ship.

"Good morning," Abremio said cheerfully. "Can you drive this, boy?"

"Yes, sir," Willam said, after a quick glance to Corvus to confirm. 

"Excellent! Then let's go." 

The wizards sat down while Jorin opened the door to the shed, and Corvus laid an aerial map of the many small islands outside Wulfshaven next to the steering instruments. One of the islands – one of the few that were shown in dark green because trees grew there – was marked with a pen. 

Abremio was watching him. Willam made sure to take twice as long as he usually needed to input the coordinates, set up the instruments, and start the hovercraft. He even made it hit the water more clumsily and with a bigger wobble than necessary. Corvus would be glaring at him, he knew, and fought not to grin. It made him feel a bit lighter.

There was the usual amount of ship traffic on the Wulf, but all the ships knew to get out of the way when they heard the hovercraft's signal horn. It didn't take long before the hovercraft reached the Inner Sea. The island marked on the map was surrounded by others, but for a little while they were in open water. Willam breathed deeply, enjoying the powerful feeling of steering the hovercraft over small waves which glittered in the sunlight. This was what magic was supposed to be, he thought: beautiful, non-threatening, and making things easier for people. Learning how to drive the hovercraft had been Willam's promised reward for reading his first book, and it had been a great motivator. 

Abremio was looking through his bag. Corvus was watching the sky, and Willam frowned. He hadn't checked, but surely if there was a chance of bad weather Corvus would have warned him.

They'd reached the islands and Willam had to concentrate on navigating. In the end he found the island without problems, and the small dock was easily visible.

"Wait," Corvus said when Willam started to steer for the dock. He took out a small remote control and entered a few numbers. "Now."

Willam wondered what would happen to ships that approached the island without a remote control, and if he really wanted to know. Then he wondered if Artos and the sailors who came to Wulfshaven were aware that this island was off limits to anyone but wizards, and how many of them had died because they didn't. 

It didn't take long to park the hovercraft. After they disembarked, Corvus led them along a small path toward the middle of the island. Abremio started talking again, mostly about his past experiences with ships and hovercrafts, and Willam tried to deflect the occasional question directed at him.

"There," Corvus said, pointing at a cluster of trees.

Willam blinked. Only after a few moments did he see the angles that didn't quite fit and the shadows that weren't quite where he expected them to be. They were looking at a building, or a machine, that was almost completely camouflaged. He'd never seen one of these spells before, and he immediately wanted to ask Corvus about how they worked and how they were made. Just in time, he remembered that he was pretending to be stupid for Abremio's sake.

"What is it?" he asked instead.

"The weather station," Corvus said shortly. He used the remote control again, and a door opened seemingly in the middle of a tree. Corvus and Abremio walked in without hesitation, but for Willam stepping through was more than a bit disorienting. 

They entered a grey room in what must be the central monitoring station. There were desks against two of the walls, the third wall showed a moving aerial map of the ocean, and the wall opposite the entrance had shelves with books and two other doors. One of them was labeled "Drone Depot" and the other "Chemical Storage." 

Abremio immediately sat down at one of the desks, pulled out a drawer with a keyboard, and pulled up an interface. "Same clearance codes as G1 and 2, I assume?" he asked, and entered them without even waiting for Corvus' reply. Corvus stood in the middle of the room, watching him with an unhappy expression.

From what Willam could tell, Abremio accessed status reports from various systems. It took him several minutes, during which Corvus didn't move and Willam fidgeted. He didn't dare show an interest in what Abremio was doing, since he was sure he wasn't supposed to understand it. At one point several symbols appeared on the map projection and Willam tried to figure out what they meant, but he only got as far as guessing that one of them was for altitude and one for temperature before Abremio clapped his hands and turned around. "That should be an easy fix," he said. "I'll need to run the full diagnostics, of course, but you should have drone control back in a day or two. I can fix the broken heat drone, too."

"Thank you," Corvus said politely.

Abremio waved it away. "You know I'm happy to help a fellow Blue," he said, with a slight emphasis on the last word. Willam was pretty sure he was missing part of this conversation. "The system here is not that difficult to understand. In fact, you don't even need to be here. I'm sure you have better things to do." Abremio smiled.

"I wouldn't leave you here all by yourself," Corvus said dryly. "It's not hospitable."

"Oh, no, the boy can stay, of course. He can help me carry things."

So that was his plan. Willam swallowed at the thought of spending an entire day alone with Abremio on the island. _He'll try to find out if you are susceptible to bribery or threats, and then try either_ , Corvus had said. _If he deems you a threat he may just kill you outright. It's your choice._

Willam thought about his little sister, how she'd cried when Abremio's men had taken her. He gave a small nod.

"Fine," Corvus said, sounding unconcerned. "The boy can stay. Call me when you're done for the day."

"Of course!" Abremio promised cheerfully. 

Corvus nodded to him and then to Willam. Willam couldn't read his face. He tried to appear confident, but didn't think Corvus was fooled. 

The door closed behind Corvus with a clang. Willam jumped.

Abremio didn't even look at him. "Why don't you sit down?" he suggested, calling up more systems. "I'll run a few diagnostics here. I'll tell you if I need your help."

"Yes, sir," Willam said. He sat down at the second table, on the chair closer to Abremio, and watched the screens.

The screen projections here were flat in front of the wall. Abremio was clearly used to a circular set-up; every once in a while he turned or tried to get a file from his side and seemed startled when it wasn't where he expected it to be. 

After setting up the diagnostics, the first thing he did was disable the cameras inside the building. He attempted to connect to G2, then to G1, and then to a different system that Willam suspected was in The Crags, but all the connections were blocked. Corvus must have done it in advance. Abremio only grunted in dissatisfaction, but didn't try to get through it. Willam didn't understand the next two files. The next one, he thought, was an activity log.

"What do you think?" Abremio asked, and Willam started.

"Of what, sir?"

"Of this. He didn't use this station very often, didn't he?"

Very rarely, from what Willam could see. There were regular entries for routine tasks, but hardly any other actions in the past several years. "I don't really understand," he said. "Sir, what does this station do?"

"He never explained?" Abremio asked with a smirk. He closed the activity log and turned to face Willam. "This station controls the weather."

"Really?" 

"You didn't know he could do that."

Willam shook his head. He'd only known about the scrying. His ignorance probably helped sell his cover story, but that didn't dispel his disappointment that Corvus had never told him. 

"Well!" Abremio said, clapping his hands together once. "With this weather station, your master can control the clouds and storms. He can make it rain anywhere and anytime he wants, or stop the rain entirely. He could also use it to sink any ship or destroy any building he wants, but in most cases that would be a waste of resources."

"Wow," Willam managed. 

"Impressive, huh?" Abremio looked like he wanted to continue, but a file flashed red and drew his attention away.

The weather. How did it work, with the Guidestars? Maybe he used invisible large area spells – radiation, Corvus had called it once. Corvus had only taught him the basics about the weather so far, but Willam knew that clouds and winds depended on air temperatures. If the Guidestars could send heat radiation….

Willam stood up and studied the map on the wall. It mostly showed the ocean and the clouds above it, but in one corner was the symbol he'd seen on other maps to change their focus. If he had access to the station system he could make it explain the symbols and shapes to him. A few black dots, many of them along the coasts and some between the Northern and Southern shore, were numbered. They were probably ships…

"Lunch?" Abremio asked, disrupting Willam's thoughts. 

"Yes, sir," Willam answered. He went to get the bags.

He was tense during the whole meal because he expected Abremio to ask him questions again, but the wizard waited until they'd both finished before he leaned back and studied Willam. "So what kind of magic has Corvus been teaching you?"

Willam had expected that question. "Not much yet. He said it was too difficult to teach me when I can't read well. He taught me a bit about electricity, I can build lamps now."

"Good, good," Abremio said. "What do you think about magic?"

"It's amazing," Willam said honestly. "It's – it's so much! It's incredible."

"Hm. And what do you think about wizards?"

"They're - you're very powerful."

"You don't even know the half of it," Abremio said. Willam thought he looked pleased. "Has Corvus shown you what we can do?"

"Some of it," Willam said. "He showed me the view from the Guidestars, it's amazing. He told me the wizards built the Guidestars and use them for spells. Is that what the weather station does? Were they built for that? Do you know how old they are?"

"None of your business," Abremio said sharply. 

"Sorry, sir," Willam said quickly. 

Abremio nodded magnanimously, as if he knew either everything or not very much at all about the Guidestars. He stood up. "Come, boy. I have to inspect the facility."

He opened the door to "chemical storage" first. It led to a big storeroom with huge round yellow tanks inside, more than twice as high as a person. They were all labeled, and Abremio stopped to read every single one. The letters were too small for Willam to read them over Abremio's shoulder; most likely he wouldn't have understood them anyway. It was surprising that Abremio even bothered to look at the signs and hadn't just looked up the contents on the system. Unless he didn't trust the system. 

The room was empty apart from the tanks and a worktable with a few tools, including a bucket, a rag, a screwdriver, and some Willam didn't recognize. Abremio muttered under his breath, then went to inspect the other room, the "drone depot." Willam stopped in the doorway.

From side to side the room was as big as the tank room, but the ceiling was not as high. In orderly rows against every wall stood small machines, most of them no higher than his knees or even smaller. Almost no two of them looked the same: some appeared to sit on some kind of container, others on a deflated bag, others on spider legs made out of metal. Some of them had wings, some of them had rotors, others neither. A few were broken apart, and there was a cupboard with spare or broken parts on one wall. In the middle of the room was a large table with a small box on top and a bigger one underneath.

"Do you know what these do?" Abremio called. He was studying one of the machines with wings.

Willam went into the room to look. "No," he admitted.

"They fly," Abremio said. Willam waited for a further explanation, but none was forthcoming. He looked around.

The containers and bags could be for the chemicals in the other room. The machines could fly with the chemicals and then – release them? Was that how the weather spells worked? 

Behind one machine was another door, labeled simply "Computer Room," that was protected with a security spell. He took a step toward it.

"Don't go in there!" Abremio called. "I'd have to kill you." 

He sounded both friendly and like he absolutely meant it. Willam took a step back. 

"Good boy." Abremio gave the passcode to the security spell and walked into the computer room. "Don't touch anything," he called back to Willam. The door swung shut. 

Willam didn't know how long Abremio would stay in that room or what he'd done to the system, so he didn't dare access the workstation in the monitoring room. Instead he examined the drones in detail. Some of them were clearly patchwork, created from different pieces. He wondered under what kind of weather conditions they were functional: some of them looked quite fragile, though he knew that especially with magical devices appearances could be deceiving.

"Done," Abremio said behind him, and Willam jerked up. He'd been so absorbed by a grey drone's rotors that he hadn't heard Abremio come back. He stood up too quickly and had to close his eyes for a moment when he became dizzy. It must have been longer than he'd realized.

"It's late," Abremio confirmed. "I can do the rest tomorrow. Let's wait for your master on the beach, shall we?"

Willam agreed, a little wary of what Abremio might have planned. Sure enough, on the beach Abremio sat down on a large rock and motioned for Willam to sit on one nearby. Willam looked at the darkening sky and hoped that Corvus would come soon.

"So! What do you think of your master?" Abremio asked casually.

The term was correct: Willam was the apprentice, and Corvus was his master. Nevertheless he usually tried to avoid using it. 

"I owe him a lot," he said after a short pause. Hopefully Abremio would fill it with what he wanted to hear. In Willam's limited experience that was one of the best ways to lie.

Abremio seemed amused. "Don't worry, you can be honest with me." Willam almost snorted. Instead he said nothing, looking at his feet. Abremio apparently took it as agreement. "I won't tell him. You don't have to be afraid of him here."

Willam shot him a quick look and then averted his eyes again. "I'm not scared of my master." He tried to make it sound as though it was a lie.

It _was_ a lie, he told himself. 

_If there's a reason I shouldn't eliminate you and this boy, it's one I ought to know,_ Corvus had said to Rowan. Rowan had known exactly what to say to save their lives, of course, something simple and brilliant. But Rowan was in the Outskirts now, many miles and months away. There was nobody to stop Corvus the next time he considered killing Willam. 

Corvus wouldn't, Willam told himself. At least not without a very good reason. Corvus had also said that he didn't want to hurt them, and he'd asked Rowan to give him reasons to spare them.

But wizards didn't see the world like other people did, and Willam often didn't understand their actions. He wasn't even sure why Corvus had taken him as an apprentice in the first place. 

"Ah," Abremio said softly, and Willam jerked. "No need to worry. You don't need to be scared. If you have problems with Corvus, I can help you."

"Help me?" 

"Of course," Abremio said. "You could come to live with me in The Crags, for instance. Have you ever been? You should, it's beautiful. You could have a house there, a career, wealth… Corvus couldn't reach you there. I'm sure we could help each other."

Bribery, Willam knew. Once he entered The Crags he most likely would never leave it again. Still, the opportunity to see the place for himself and learn more about it…

"What is it?" Abremio prompted.

It was the perfect opportunity. "Sir… I've heard you kidnap children." Willam ducked his head as if he was embarrassed, or scared. It wasn't much of a pretense.

"You don't need to worry about that," Abremio said genially. "People talk."

 _Continue_ , Willam thought, _say something more,_ but Abremio didn't. 

"You really should consider visiting me," Abremio said instead. "I can protect you. It would be a shame if anything happened to you, hm?"

Willam shivered. He balled his fists. Suddenly hate rushed through him, and he thought: _I could kill him. I could find a way. I could kill him, and avenge my sister, and he couldn't hurt me anymore…._

 _It wouldn't help,_ said a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Rowan's. _Possibilities are two. I don't succeed, and he kills me; or I succeed, and there will simply be a new wizard in his stead. Corvus will have to try and kill me, and I will never find out what Slado wants or how to prevent it._

"I'll think about it," he said. His voice sounded strange to his own ears. 

Abremio didn't seem to notice. "That's good," he said. "We can talk again tomorrow, hm? I think our ride is here."

The hovercraft was already close; Willam hadn't even noticed. He stepped forward, grateful for the excuse to put more distance and another person between him and Abremio. 

To his surprise, it wasn't Corvus who'd come to get them. "Rin? What are you doing here?" he asked as he stashed the bags on the hovercraft.

"Corvus is busy, so he asked me to get you," the smith explained. She was watching the instruments very carefully, clearly not used to them yet, but the hovercraft kept steady. Her braid had frayed in the wind, and she blew at a strand in her face in irritation. 

"I didn't know you could drive the hovercraft." He wondered why Corvus had sent Rin and not Jorin or one of the other house servants, if he couldn't or didn't want to come himself. They were used to minor magic by now. Maybe Corvus wanted to keep the servants away from Abremio and thought the other wizard wouldn't be interested in someone with few connections to magic.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" she asked, looking up with a big smile. "He taught me. Said you told him I was the smartest person in the Lamplighters Guild so he knew I could do it. I knew bribing you with rolls and pie was good for something!" 

"It's true," he protested. Then he reconsidered: "But feel free to bribe me with as much pie as you want. As long as Cala bakes it."

"Brat," she said, swatting at him. He evaded her with a grin. 

"We can leave now," Abremio said impatiently. He'd gotten into the hovercraft while they were talking, and was now lounging in the back.

"Yes sir," Rin said respectfully. 

She drove them back without any problems, although she refused to talk during the flight for fear she might get distracted. Willam grinned when he imagined her telling Cala and the other guild members about it. Corvus had most likely forbidden her to reveal any details, but other people must have seen her leave the harbor on the wizard's boat. 

"This was amazing," Rin said in a hushed voice, after she'd parked the hovercraft in the shed. "Magic is amazing. Do you get to do things like that all the time?"

"Sometimes," Willam said. Out of the corner of his eye he looked for Abremio, but he'd already entered the house. 

"Maybe I'm beginning to understand why you stay with him," she said. She stood next to the hovercraft, her hand almost but not quite touching it.

"It's not so bad. I already told you that."

"Yeah, but nobody believed you. Wizards, you know." Rin finally took her hand away. "Tell him thank you, if he's not busy? And that I'd be honored to do it again if he needs it."

"I will," Willam promised. 

Rin made him promise to come to the pub again when he could before she left. 

In the house Willam quickly retreated to his room. Corvus would want to talk to him, but he knew where to find him. If Willam stayed in the library or any other common room Abremio might find him there, and he didn't want to deal with him again today. 

To pass the time he tried to draw the drones from memory, but it was difficult. Drawing had never been his strong suit.

Corvus finally knocked on the door when it was almost dark outside. "What did he do?" he asked, and Willam did his best to recount Abremio's actions during the day. 

"He didn't modify the drones?" Corvus checked. Willam shook his head. 

Corvus exhaled, but he still looked tense. "Hopefully he'll be finished tomorrow."

"Sir?" Willam asked. "Is it true that with that station, you can control the weather?"

"Yes. One of these days I'll show you how the spells work, but you should learn weather scrying first."

"If you can control the weather… there's a drought coming. Farmers have already started to lose crops. You could have helped them." Only as he said it did he realize how much it troubled him.

"The station was broken," Corvus said irritably.

"But if it hadn't been. There was a drought a few years ago, Maranna told me. And a hailstorm east from here that almost ruined several villages. You could have prevented all of that."

"I'm a wizard, not a god," Corvus said. 

"But you could help people!" Willam insisted. "Many will die if there isn't enough rain this summer!"

"People always die," Corvus said. "It's not my job to save them. There has to be balance."

"How is it balance to let innocent people die!" 

"How many innocent people died when you blew up Shammer and Dhree's fortress?" 

Willam flinched. 

"Humans aren't immortal," Corvus said, more gently. "Everybody dies one day. You can't feel responsible for every death you could maybe have prevented if you'd done something different."

"I blew up the fortress," Willam said quietly. "That was my choice. I did that." 

He'd talked with Corvus about the fortress before, when he'd learned more about blasting charms. It had always been in terms of tactics, which charms to use for what purpose and where. He'd always tried to ignore the real consequences. He'd never tried to find out how many people had lived there. Sometimes he still saw them in his dreams.

"Did you get what you wanted from Abremio?" Corvus said, interrupting his thoughts. 

"He didn't say anything about the kids," Willam said, grateful for the change of topic. "He invited me to visit him in The Crags, but that's a trap."

Corvus nodded. "Do you want to try again?"

Willam shuddered. "No." Abremio had barely threatened him yet, but even when he pretended to be friendly he made Willam nervous. If Willam asked about the kidnappings again he'd definitely realize something was up, and Willam didn't want to know what Abremio could do with that kind of leverage.

"You don't have to go with him tomorrow," Corvus offered.

"I don't?"

"I can send Rin with him."

"Please," Willam said, relieved. He felt slightly guilty about sending Rin with Abremio, but she'd be fine. There was no reason for Abremio to be interested in her, not like he was interested in Willam. She'd thank him for the opportunity to drive the hovercraft again.

"Okay." Corvus stood up. "I'll set the alarm for when he's already gone."

"Thank you," said Willam. He felt a lot lighter knowing that he could avoid Abremio the next day. 

He even slept better, with barely any nightmares. When he finally got up, Abremio and Rin had already left, and Corvus was working in his study. Working with Corvus would be risky because they didn't know when Abremio would return, so Willam decided to go into town. 

After walking around for a while, he visited Cala's smithy. Her small shop reminded him of his family's on days when he was feeling nostalgic. She immediately told him to help out, since it was his fault Rin wasn't there, but laughed off his apology.

"It makes her happy," she shrugged. "She was excited. And here I thought you were the only one with a crush on our wizard! Oh no, no need to be ashamed. You're a teenage boy, it's only to be expected. He might be a wizard, but he's handsome, isn't he?" 

Red-faced, Willam escaped. For most of the afternoon he practiced his archery among the trees on Corvus' estate, trying to clear his head of all thoughts of Abremio, Corvus, and magic.

He'd thought about learning how to fight with a sword, like Bel did. Artos would have found someone to teach him if he'd asked. But even if he took time away from his magic studies for sword practice, which he didn't want to do, he'd never be the best swordfighter, and he'd always be the most dangerous with his magic. He'd come up with various ways to make his blasting charms smaller and more useful instead.

As the sun set Willam kept one ear open, but he didn't hear the hovercraft return. He went inside, where he saw Corvus sitting in the living room with a book open in his lap that Willam knew he knew almost by heart. 

"He blocked my access to all cameras and monitoring systems," Corvus said when Willam came into the room.

"Do you think he's sabotaging the station?" Willam asked.

"I don't know. I won't be able to find out until he's gone." Corvus turned back to his book.

Willam went up to his room and put his chair next to his window, where he had a good view of the river. He didn't look at the watch, but by the time he finally saw the lamp of the returning hovercraft it was almost completely dark and he'd been tapping his fingers on his knees restlessly for a while. From the window he couldn't see well, so he went downstairs to where he knew Corvus could monitor the outer cameras. But all the monitors were turned off, and Corvus was nowhere to be seen. Following a hunch, Willam checked the front door and saw that it was open; Corvus must have gone outside, probably to the shed where the hovercraft would be parked. Willam followed.

He didn't know what had made Corvus leave the house, so he walked slowly, and when he reached the shed the hovercraft just came to a halt. Abremio took his bags and stepped out. 

"I'm afraid there was a problem," he said with obviously feigned regret. He gestured toward the hovercraft. "Your woman didn't know her place." 

In the back lay a body. 

Willam ran forward and jumped onto the hovercraft. He turned Rin's body around and her head fell back against the seat. He put his fingers on her neck, hoping against expectations to find a pulse, but her skin was already cold.

"I'm sure this wasn't necessary," Corvus said coldly. 

"I'm afraid it was. It's unfortunate that it had to come to this," said Abremio. At his words, Willam looked up; Abremio was looking straight at him. 

"Willam," said Corvus sharply. "Go inside the house. Tell Della and Jorin to come. Then go upstairs." 

"Yes, sir," Willam said automatically. He took a step forward and only then noticed that he was shaking. Another step. 

He went back to the house, notified Jorin, and went upstairs to his room just as ordered. There he sat on the floor, put his head on his knees and his arms around them, and cried.

He couldn't stop shivering for a long time. Rin was dead. Abremio had killed her because Willam didn't come to the island with him. Willam let Rin go to the island in his stead because he was scared, and now Rin was dead.

There was a knock on the door, and Corvus opened it and stepped through. He sighed when he saw Willam. "Will you be all right?" he asked, almost gently. 

"Yes," Willam murmured, barely raising his head. "Is he done? Will he leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," Corvus confirmed, and Willam sagged in relief. Corvus looked as though he wanted to say something else, but he just nodded and left. 

Willam stayed on the floor for a while. He felt like he had a stone in his chest, and he was afraid to try to examine it. It would hurt.

Maybe he would have stayed on the floor for the whole night, but eventually he had to get up and go to the bathroom. He scrubbed his face with cold water and walked back to his room.

He hadn't bothered to turn on the lights in the hallway, so when something slammed him against the wall he was caught completely unawares. Willam gasped and tried to jerk free, but was quickly pinned again.

"Shut up," Abremio hissed. 

Willam immediately stopped struggling. Fear made his heart beat fast and his hands prickle.

"Did you think you could avoid me?" Abremio demanded. "Did you think you were smart enough? Stupid boy. You have no idea who you're dealing with." He increased the pressure on Willam's shoulders. "You are worthless. I can have you killed any time I want, and Corvus can't protect you. I could just take you, and after two days Corvus would forget you existed. You'll tell me everything I want to know, and then I'll throw you away like the trash you are." 

Willam pressed himself closer to the wall. He couldn't speak.

Abremio released him and stepped back. "But that doesn't have to happen," he said, in an abruptly kindly tone. "We can avoid all that unpleasant business if you agree to work with me. Think about it."

He paused. Willam realized that he was waiting for a reaction and nodded quickly, even though it was too dark to see.

"Good!" Abremio said. "Contact me when you're willing to cooperate. Maybe I'll drop by for another visit." Willam could hear the rustle of his clothes as he walked away. "Have a good night!" 

Willam stayed where he was, listening to his rapid heartbeat pounding in his ears. It took a long time until he could move again.

The next morning he lay in bed for a long time, staring at the ceiling. Corvus must have forgotten to set the alarms. His thoughts swam through his head like transparent fish and he was unable to grasp a single one. 

Eventually hunger drove him out of his room and into the kitchen to get a quick snack. Neither Della nor Jorin were there, for which he was grateful: he didn't want to think about what they'd done the night before. He didn't want to think about what they might be doing now, either.

Cala must have heard about Rin by now. He wondered what they'd told her.

When he left the kitchen he saw that Corvus was sitting in the living room and looking at him expectantly. Willam sat down in the chair in front of him.

"Is he gone?" he asked.

"Yes," Corvus confirmed. "I checked the house for bugs and cameras and other surprises. It's clear now."

"There was one in the hallway near the bathroom," Willam said.

"Yes," Corvus confirmed. His eyes widened as he caught the implication. "What did he do?"

"We talked," Willam told the floor.

"Willam." 

"He threatened me. Said he would have me killed or kidnapped if I didn't agree to work for him."

There was a brief silence. "We knew that was a risk," Corvus said. 

Willam wondered if Corvus was going to send him away now. If Abremio could get to Willam and get him to talk – and Willam didn't doubt that he could – Abremio would find out about Corvus' investigations, reveal them to Slado, and they'd have Corvus killed. It was much safer for Corvus to get rid of his apprentice.

When it came down to it, Willam didn't seriously think that Corvus would have him killed. Corvus had taken him on as an apprentice and kept him for over two years, he must find Willam's company at least somewhat agreeable.

Willam looked up to see Corvus studying him. "You could leave," the wizard said abruptly.

"What?" Willam asked. He'd expected an order, not a suggestion.

"You won't be safe here. I can't protect you all the time. If Abremio catches you, that would be…" he hesitated briefly, "not good. You could go somewhere else and hide from him. If you're smart about it and go far, there's a good chance he won't find you."

Willam's first thought was to take that offer and go somewhere far away, to a place where wizards wouldn't be able to find him. Maybe he could meet up with Rowan and Bel in the Outskirts. Or he could settle down in a small village and work as a normal blacksmith. 

But the Guidestars were watching. The Krue had spies practically everywhere, even in the Outskirts. There was nowhere he could go where he could be sure he was safe from wizards. Nowhere that the wizards couldn't reach if they wanted to, that they couldn't command or destroy at will.

One wizard had even brought down a Guidestar. Willam shivered and hugged his arms around his upper body. 

"Sir?" he asked, suddenly wanting to know. "Why did you take me on as your apprentice?" 

Corvus raised an eyebrow. "I was curious," he said. "You seemed smart and eager to learn. You already knew about blasting charms, and by taking you as an apprentice I could keep an eye on you and didn't have to worry what else you might blow up."

Willam nodded. It was what he'd expected.

It occurred to him that Corvus had sounded as though he was offering Willam the opportunity to leave for Willam's protection, not Corvus'. It was nice to have confirmation that at some point Corvus had started to care about Willam's safety.

He might be marginally safer if he left, at least for a while. But he'd have to give up everything he had here. He'd have to give up magic. 

Yes, magic could be terrifying – but it could also be beautiful and awesome. He'd looked at the Earth like he was a bird and flown across miles in minutes, he'd stood among a dome of stars, he'd written letters of light into the air and learned how to create potions and charms that made stone and metal disappear. Corvus had shown him how to do things he never would have thought possible, and there was so much still left to learn, still left to discover. He remembered Rin's joy and wonder when she was driving the hovercraft, and smiled.

Then he remembered her dead body lying before him.

He wondered if Cala blamed Abremio, or Corvus for not protecting Rin. She probably blamed Willam, too, since he'd been the one to recommend Rin to Corvus. She might not ever speak to him again; the thought hurt, even though he wouldn't be able to hold it against her. But regardless of who she blamed, there was nothing she could do. Nobody could oppose a wizard.

Rowan could, Willam reminded himself. Bel and Rowan both had evaded and resisted wizards, and they were working to find out what Slado was planning, and prevent it if necessary. He himself had blown up a wizards' fortress. It wasn't much in the way of defiance, but it was something. 

If he kept studying magic, Willam would be able to do more. He could find out more about the wizards, what they were doing and how and why. He could find out about Slado, and help Rowan and Bel and Corvus stop him.

"I think I'd like to stay," he said. His voice wasn't as steady as he'd have liked.

Corvus raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Where would I go? I can help you here, sir," he said, firmer now. "I learn fast, you told me that. I swear I'll be careful."

"You won't be safe from Abremio here."

"I won't be completely safe anywhere. At least if I disappear from here, you'll know that he got me."

It was a risk, yes, but a risk he could see and face. Living his whole life in some small village afraid of Abremio's shadow - he'd already run away from that once. He was stronger now than that boy had been. Strong enough to face the threat head-on.

"Sir – I want to take Abremio up on his offer to visit The Crags."

Corvus stared at him. "Are you mad?" 

"I could find out more about what he's doing. I can pretend to work with him, pretend I'm spying on you. It will work," Willam said, with growing conviction. "He thinks I'm useless, he won't suspect anything."

"It's too dangerous," Corvus objected. "And you won't find your sister."

"I… I know that, sir. But it's still worth looking. It could help."

"Abremio is dangerous."

"I know that." For a moment Willam saw Rin's body again, heard Abremio's threats in the dark, before he pushed them away forcefully. "I can do it."

Corvus looked at him and sighed. "We'll talk about this some other time." 

"You'll let me stay?" 

"You can stay," Corvus confirmed.

Willam exhaled, relieved. He knew he wouldn't change his mind about going to The Crags. He'd met Abremio now: it had been frightening, and he'd lost a friend, but he'd made it through. 

Next time, he would be better prepared.


End file.
